Hollow Henry

The guard ship was nice. They sat in a private cabin on comfortable couches. The guards even gave them coffee. Henry was worried they were being taken in as prisoners, but it certainly didn't feel like it. Once they got to the pyre, they were escorted to a floating carriage that was being pulled by 2 feather-links. They were giant birds, and most of them were flightless. He thought they looked like terror birds, only bigger. They had teeth along with their beak too, which felt a little unnecessary. He made sure to steer clear of the creatures when he boarded the carriage.

On the way to the guardhouse he made sure to message Andy as well. Hamish had an upgrade to his Player-Net that let him stream his view to his personal site, so Andy could watch along and keep track. If things went sideways and Henry needed to get out of the city, having both of his friends would help a lot. They'd been playing with the idea of hitting the road anyway. Hamish and Andy never stayed in one place for too long apparently, and Henry was getting the bug himself. There was a big world out there for him to see. Even with countless lifetimes he would be hard pressed to see it all, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying. By the time the carriage pulled up at the guardhouse, the three of them had agreed to get out of dodge if the meeting wasn't in their favour.

“Welcome, come in, please take a seat,” The guard captain greeted them enthusiastically. He invited them into his office where a few other guards stood around the room. They sat, and he took his own seat at his desk. A helmeted guard stood next to him in complete silence.

Henry smirked at the guard, his curiosity growing rapidly. The guard was smaller than a lot of the others, but that wasn't what caught his attention. What struck him as curious was the shiny and new pair of metal boots she wore. She must have had them replaced once she got back.

“Good afternoon captain,” he started with a bow of his head. “It's good to see you again Lee,” he finished with a devious grin. She tensed subtly, confirming his suspicion.

Captain Maraque raised an eyebrow and looked between them. “Lee, huh?,” he said while looking at her.

“What's this meeting about then? Captain,” Hamish interrupted, never after to cut to the point.

The captain didn't seem offended at all, he actually laughed instead. The man had the energy of an animated squirrel.

“Skipping the cutscenes are we?”

That caught both of them by surprise. Andy sent a message that was just question marks.

“I beg your pardon?” Henry asked cautiously. The captain wasn't giving away any indication he was a player. The man was far too old to even be first generation. The players aged at a glacial speed. Maraque looked close to retirement.

“An expression I learned from one of your peers,” he assured them with open palms. “I'm told it's an expression that means you wish to get to the point of the meeting, and don't feel inclined to small talk and niceties. Am I understanding that right?”

They looked at each other and fought to suppress a laugh.

“That's a way to put it, I suppose,” Hamish offered.

“So there's other players in the city?” Henry asked, deciding some small talk could be necessary.

“At this time, no. Other than your associate of course.” The guard assured them. “The kingdom is in negotiations with one of your outworlder guilds however. They're looking to establish a base of operations within Therveinia. So we might be seeing a lot more of your kin in the coming days.”

Hamish leant forward, his face nearly turning white. “What guild?” He asked with a serious tone.

Maraque looked at him curiously. “The Administrator Guild,” he offered cautiously.

‘Slippery’ Andy:

God dammit

Well this place was fun while it lasted

“I don't want to speak ill of your friends captain, but I'd be careful about getting in bed with someone that wants to know how many hours you sleep every night.”

Hamish sat back with his arms folded. He looked upset, and a little shaken.

The ‘Fragile’ Henry:

Does someone wanna clue me in here?

‘Slippery’ Andy:

Imagine if tax men declared martial law, that's the Admin Guild

They will send you to spawn for arbitrary shit, fine you, and then expect you to thank them for it

‘Unstoppable’ Hamish:

They're the self appointed government for all players

Bunch of wankers

The ‘Fragile’ Henry:

Who the hell gives them the authority?

‘Slippery’ Andy:

They give it to themselves

They're way too powerful

We should get out of the kingdom

Captain Maraque sat with his fingers steepled. He waited patiently for them to finish their hidden conversation, while clearly considering something himself. When they looked back at him, he was ready for them.

“Your concerns echo those of some others in the kingdom,” he declared. “If you'll hear my offer, you may be able to bring those concerns to someone with more influence.” He shrugged, as if he didn't just get them interested.

Henry had no ties to the kingdom. He didn't care too much one way or the other if the tax man came, since he wasn't going to stick around for it. The offer for an adventure though, that was something he could stick around for. He figured it all had something to do with Lee too. He wanted to know how she got back to the city, and he couldn't help but be a little bit curious about the woman. She had a sense of mystery about her, and he always liked a mystery.

“What's your offer?” He asked, earning the stink eye from Hamish.

Maraque smiled, successfully hooking his outworlder. “The Kingdom of Therveinia would like to hire your mercenary services for the purpose of escorting a member of the royal family to the capital.”

Henry blinked dumbly for a moment, taking in the information. He was nearly stumped, the offer for a job was one thing, but the royal family thing was another. He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. It all came together as soon as he heard the job offer.

“You’re a fucking princess?” He asked in exasperation, looking at Lee.

“God dammit, uncle Marqu,” Lee groaned, taking off her helmet. “Did you have to tell them that?”

“Didn't see that one coming,” Hamish laughed. “You saved a princess,” he said, nudging Henry. “You really are a white knight.”

“I didn't mean to,” Henry defended, for some reason. He'd read the book where the clueless hero saved the princess more times than he could count. Not one of those books had a princess that would tell the hero to ‘go fuck himself’, so he really hadn't thought twice about it. If Lee was a princess, she'd been skipping the etiquette classes.

“Why do you want me to do it? Isn't there someone more qualified?”

“He's got a really good point,” she insisted. “I'm sure he's too busy stealing food and exposing himself to people.”

“Why do you hate me so much?” Henry asked sheepishly.

She held up a hand, counting off two things as she spoke. “Cannibal, and pervert.”

“I don't get it,” he groaned.

“Children, please,” the captain said, holding his hands up with a smile on his face. “From what I'm told, you have skills that could be vital in keeping Princess Leyela safe on the journey,” he declared, looking at Henry.

“That's definitely not true,” Henry scoffed. “I appreciate the offer, but I don't think that's a good idea.”

“I'll admit. From what I've heard your skills might leave something to be desired,” the captain said in his politest tone. “But your strengths can't be discounted. An outworlder is a reliable ally to a kingdom as small as Therveinia.” The man was being remarkably honest, which made Henry a little more cautious. It felt as if Maraque was several steps ahead, and that made him nervous.

“Do you even want me to escort you?” He asked Lee. “I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night with a knife in my neck.”

She rolled her head. “I wouldn't kill you. It doesn't work apparently.”

“It's not up to her anyway,” Maraque interrupted. “For the foreseeable future, you're still a member of the Therveinia Guard, and you'll follow the orders you're given,” he declared with a stern face.

“Yes captain,” she sighed, not bothering to argue.

The captain turned his attention to Hamish. “If your party captain is willing to accept, I can present you with an invitation to meet with the king's adviser. He can hear your concerns about your fellow outworlders.”

Henry was about to refuse the offer, but a message from Andy caught his attention just in time.

‘Slippery’ Andy:

That's actually a pretty good idea

The ‘Fragile’ Henry:

Please explain

You don't know what she's like

‘Slippery’ Andy:

This could be a way to screw over the Admins on our way out of the kingdom

Plus they'll pay us, we need money to cross the wilds between borders

Unless you want to walk

The ‘Fragile’ Henry:

But I don't wanna

She's mean

‘Unstoppable’ Hamish:

Don't be a baby

Andy has a point

I'd love to take away some of the Admin's toys if we can

The ‘Fragile’ Henry:

Won't that piss them off?

‘Slippery’ Andy:

Hopefully

They can just add it to our records

Henry wanted to groan, but he decided to have more tact. With a sigh instead, he looked between Maraque and Lee. “What does it pay?” He asked in defeat.

2 hours later, he sat in the Tavern with his friends. They were admiring their cash advance of 8 gold slabs and a small soul stone. It was great pay for a simple job, and it was only half of what they're promised on delivery. Hamish and Andy were most excited about the soul stones. If they crushed the fragile crystals, a large amount of essence would flood the area. They both planned to crush their stones together in an enclosed space so they could maximise their essence absorption as much as possible. Henry planned to feed his directly to his Temple. In theory, he'd be able to absorb %100 of what the stone had to offer, rather than the %60 his friends were hoping for.

He was excited for the coming adventure, but it still left a pit in his stomach. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were getting caught up in something much bigger than themselves. The last 2 weeks had been simple for the most part, and he'd been enjoying the peaceful and duty free life. He was hesitant to get involved in any politics. The Admin Guild sounded like a serious group. The Scotsmen might be confident in dealing with them, but Henry was still only a level 5. He would have to get stronger even faster if he wanted to stand a chance. They had 4 days to prepare for their journey. Supplies for the journey weren't a concern for him, since he'd already been stocking his Temple like a hoarder. What he needed to prepare was himself. He'd been coming up with different ideas about how to train his stats and skills inside his Temple. The biggest drawback was that he couldn't regenerate DiHexan while he was there, which severely limited how much he could do. He had been stockpiling DiHexan potions too, and it looked like he was about to make an early dent in his supply. He would need to visit the Goblin Shop one more time before they left if he wanted to resupply, even if the little Goblin attendant freaked him out. For 50[E] a potion, he should be able to get a good amount of training before they left.

He waved goodbye to his friends for the night, and made sure to pay a tip to the bar. It didn't hurt to have the favour of a god-like drink slinger. He found his hidden spot behind the building, and covered the entrance. Feeling motivated, he activated his skill and twisted into his Temple.

The first thing he did was absorb the soul stone and 3 gold.

ALERT:

You have gained *180,000[E]

Essence: 230,383[E]

He almost choked when he saw the number. The act of feeling it to his core was casual to him at that point. He was used to seeing some big numbers too, but that seemed broken. He fed the remaining 5 coins to his essence, and smiled wide.

Essence: 280,383[E]

A lingering thought crept its way into his conscious mind. With that kind of essence gain, he could climb to tier 2 long before he got to level 14. From what he'd read, and what the Scotsmen had told him, going up a tier was far superior to increasing in levels. Andy said that going from tier 1 to tier 2 was like quadrupling your stats, without changing the number. It was as if everything about you would become more potent and present in the world. The thought was intoxicating. With a little work, he could potentially be at tier 2 before they left the city. He threw the last of all of his money into his essence, knowing he could just pick up some day work in the morning.

Essence: 313,624[E]

There was a lot he could do with that kind of essence, but his mind was already made up. The last coins he threw in weren't at full charge. It didn't matter though, they had more than enough to push him close to tier 2 he rubbed his hands together, then directed a massive amount of essence into his core.

Tier: 1

Essence to next tier: 300,023 / 500,000.

Essence: 13,624[E]

He almost wanted to dance. He could feel the difference already. Everything around him felt more real than ever, and his foundations felt more fortified. He didn't feel any more powerful, but it was close. It was as if he was in the middle of breathing in a lung full of the freshest air he'd ever tasted, and when he was done, he would breathe out the old him, leaving something better behind. It was an incredible feeling. It made the satisfaction from levelling up feel superficial and unimportant. He couldn't wait to know how it would feel to cross the threshold into tier 2.

Tomorrow will be a new day with new opportunities. Nothing was going to stop him from reaching his goal now.